


at gunpoint, everybody loves you

by grandmas_ghost (nap_princess)



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Happy Ending, Juvia my Queen, Lisanna my Queen, Modern AU, school au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 21:08:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14839191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nap_princess/pseuds/grandmas_ghost
Summary: Yellow is the colour of happiness / He thinks he's in love– Nalu, modern AU, Natsu-centric





	at gunpoint, everybody loves you

**at gunpoint, everybody loves you**

* * *

* * *

The first time Natsu Dragneel meets Lucy Heartfilia, they are twelve and she's new. She's eye-catching but probably for all the wrong reasons. He's not the only one who notices her. Lucy's mom has apparently given her a yellow balloon as a good luck charm of sorts for her first day of school.

Natsu catches Lucy's mom send her daughter a flying kiss just as the classroom door closes shut. The teacher coaxes Lucy to introduce herself to the class.

"Hi," Lucy says in a small voice, it is a tiny sound. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia."

"What's with the balloon?! Is it important?!" Natsu found himself asking. It couldn't be helped, he was an impulsive kid. His questions send the whole classroom laughing.

Lucy's hand tightens around the balloon bobbing in the air. She seems embarrassed by Natsu's question but she's determined to answer.

"It ... It's important." She answers after a while. "But, it's not really about the balloon. It's more about the colour. Yellow is the colour of happiness, my mom wanted my first day to be a happy one."

Natsu makes a face, not really understanding the meaning behind that. He slouches back into a seat, thinking of how boring that conversation was, as the teacher kindly asks Lucy to sit in the front like – Natsu can't help but think – some nerd.

Natsu doesn't talk to Lucy again until the next year. But it doesn't matter to him anyways because Lucy quickly befriends Lisanna Strauss and Juvia Lockser and the blue haired girl's best friend, Gajeel Redfox.

* * *

At age thirteen, Natsu follows Lucy back to her house ( _cough_  – huge ass mansion –  _cough_ ) once when they get partnered up for Science class. The project was on stars or space or something. He considers himself lucky because Lucy's a huge  _NASA_  nerd who likes reading while he prefers days throwing a ball around, laughing at Gray Fullbuster get angry at him and rough-housing like the loveable idiot he is.

Lucy gets straight to the point after they dump their bags at the foot of Lucy's bedroom door and Natsu practically throws himself on Lucy's bed like he owns it. The blonde girl takes out several heavy books about space and Natsu almost wants to laugh because –  _Ha!_  Does she really expect him to read? Nah, son, he's just going to wing it.

And when Lucy notices this (like the sharp cookie she was), she instead pulls the blinds close and takes out a box from under her bed. For a moment, Natsu panics because he thinks,  _Why the heck are you closing the curtains? Are you going to murder me?_

But then Lucy unboxes a retro looking projector and Natsu relaxes.

"What's that?" Natsu asks.

Lucy instead flashes him an irritated look. Still irked that he won't bother to read. She simply snips, "Use your eyes."

And Natsu doesn't take any offence because he's heard insults that cut  _deep_  from Gray and Gajeel.

After Lucy plugs in the projector and hurriedly turned off the lights, she takes a comfortable seat by the floor while Natsu stays lying on the bed.

The projector flashes, whirling to life; casting galaxies and stars and planets. It seemed surreal. So much so that Natsu could do nothing but keep his usual big mouth shut and stare at Lucy's ceiling and walls and floors. It was otherworldly. Was this what he was missing all those days spent under the hot sun and never-ending sky and cloudy days?

"Whoa," Natsu says, not even bothering to hide his wonder.

"Cool, huh?" Lucy asks back, smiling. "My mom gave it to me."

A content sigh escapes him, "Your mom sounds cool."

* * *

At age fourteen, Lucy's mom falls ill and Natsu distracts Lucy with dumb jokes and, days spent being her friend and with their friends, and reading DC comics where they could imagine themselves being heroes, saving lives and changing fate.

* * *

* * *

When Natsu turns fifteen over the Summer, Lucy Heartfilia doesn't just become one of his best friends, she becomes his neighbour too. But it's not all smiles and late night movies and being mischievous little shits. The move is significant. A tragedy about a dead mom and the idea of living in that big mansion being unbearable and wanting to start fresh.

"Want to come over?" Natsu asks Lucy because he knows how lonely the small house can be with Jude working and Lucy having no company apart from her old dog, Plue.

Lucy looks Natsu who never stops smiling. "Sure. Thanks, Natsu."

He grins at her to avoid the wobbly sadness in his heart from Layla Heartfilia's departure.

* * *

"Lucy!"

Natsu shouts, voice loud enough to wake the entire neighbourhood. He is sixteen and still too loud for his own good.

"Lucy!" Natsu yells again, a ball of energy at such an hour. "Lucy, open your window!"

"What?!" Lucy snaps at him as she does what she's told and throws the windows open.

It's too early. The sun has just rose and she was tired. She had spent ages just looking out at the starry sky. Looking at Orion's belt and at Mars and making wishes upon a star like she was  _Cinderella_ for a miracle, like her mom coming back to life in a non-zombie way. She thinks she fell asleep around three AM.

The barely risen sun that's just across the horizon flashes in Natsu's view. It casts a certain glow on Lucy's blonde hair, like a halo effect.

 _Wow,_ Natsu thinks, blinking at the sight of Lucy's hair or the glaring sun or both.  _I think I'm in love._

"What, Natsu?" Lucy asks again, because Natsu just did this weird pause thing and he usually never shuts up so this is a first.

Natsu blinks, slow then he hides his new discovery behind his signature toothy grin. The reflection of his chunky braces sparkles at her, almost like the same sparkle in his mischievous eyes. "My dad made us breakfast. Your fav: pancakes with cream and honey and berries."

Lucy's anger of being woken up melts away. "Well," She speaks, trying to still be crossed. "Why didn't you say that earlier?"

* * *

* * *

They are seventeen and getting ready for the dance the school is hosting.

Lucy has convinced the girls and Gajeel to get ready at her  _Natsu_ 's house because of reasons and  _certainly_  not because Natsu has his license or because he had a family mini-van he could drive that the whole gang could pile up in (note the sarcasm). Those idiots knew Natsu suffered terrible motion sickness yet still put him through this nightmare. Unbelievable friends!

Bah, whatever!

Of course, Natsu's going with Lucy. Or rather, it's a mesh of their friends going as a group. Gajeel is convinced the dance is going to suck despite all the convincing and positive words so the group managed to coax Lisanna to bring a fucking  _Monopoly_  board game as her date just in case the dance is a bust. The board is even decorated with a bowtie and everything.

"Lisanna-san, Juvia thought Lisanna-san would be going with Bickslow-senpai to the dance. Just like how Gajeel-kun is going with Levy-san or how Juvia is going with Gray-sama." Juvia says as she wraps a finger around a blue curl.

Gajeel ignores everyone and instead busies himself with his phone. Doing whatever. Maybe watching cat videos. Maybe texting Levy McGarden. Who knows?

"What? Why would Bickslow-senpai be my date?" Lisanna raises a brow.

Juvia gasps dramatically behind her manicured hand. "Oh, so he hasn't told you?"

"Told me what?" Lisanna blinks in confusion.

"Juvia, that was supposed to be a secret!" Lucy quips from the couch. "Bickslow-senpai was supposed to tell Lisanna when he was ready!"

Natsu turns to face the blonde. He sees his baby cousin, Wendy, sprinkles Lucy with glitter and stickers and nonsense preschool glamour. Lucy looks like a kindergarten art project. But in the most beautiful way where you feel wholesome for all the purity and effort put into it. He likes that Lucy's not too keen on making the night perfect or whatever like most girls obsess with.

"Sorry," Juvia says with her tongue sticking out playfully though she doesn't mean it.

Knowing no one would explain, Lisanna just turns the conversation elsewhere. "Lucy looks beautiful, doesn't she, Natsu?" Lisanna asks as Wendy slaps a flower sticker on Lucy's ponytail.

Natsu finds himself grinning harder. Though Lucy beats him to the punch before he can let a comment slip out.

"Don't laugh," Lucy says, her mouth pressed into a frown though Natsu can see she's fighting to smile through the silliness too.

"I won't." He promises. And once his dad, Igneel, scoops Wendy away, Natsu offers his arm to his date, all gentleman like and asks, "Ready?"

Lucy extends her hand, it has a fairy sticker on it, and grabs onto his arm. "Ready."

* * *

"Today's the day," Natsu says to himself, making big double loop circles around the date on the calendar. It's the day Lucy's moving away for university. He hasn't said anything to her about his crush on her for the past few years because of that cliché  _what if I wreck my friendship_  fear. But he's  _finally_  gonna say something. Because it's now or never.

"Natsu, are you going to help Lucy load her things away or not?" Igneel asks, his voice booming. Like father, like son.

"Yeah, I am!" Natsu yells back then thunders down the hall and out to the house to the pavement where Lucy is dragging her second luggage into the back seat of her car. He almost trips on air just to get to her. Natsu doesn't know where Jude or the rest of their friends are.

When the blonde peaks her head out of her car, she says, "Took you long enough,"

Natsu's heart feels suddenly tight like someone was clenching it hard.

"Yeah ..." He says and adds in a nervous chuckle to ease the conversation.

Lucy replies by rolling her eyes playfully then picks up a box and this time puts it in the trunk. She's too busy getting ready to leave to pay attention to Natsu.

Natsu swallows, his throat feels dry. "Hey, um, Luce?"

"Hmm?" Lucy hums back, pushing the box to the farthest corner.

"I need to tell you something," Natsu replies as he wipes his sweaty palms on his jeans.

"Can it wait until I've got everything in the car?" Lucy asks, not even looking at him. Her brown eyes are busy checking the things in the trunk.

Natsu sucks a deep breath. "No," He says.

Lucy looks over at Natsu just in time to see the determination in his green eyes. He steps over Lucy's bags and boxes, coming towards her without even stopping, without relenting anything stopping his way. It's almost scary how unstoppable Natsu is.

"Whoa there, why so serious?" Lucy asks, trying to turn down the situation with a Batman joke for nostalgia's sake, it doesn't work.

No, Natsu just went straight for it. He holds her face in his hands then kisses her, softly. But with  _just_  enough magic. And he thinks it leaves them both dazed because he was certainly dazed.

Natsu might have been stuck in that situation of speechlessness if not for the fact that he hears Gajeel muttering "About fucking time", Juvia crying her shipper heart out and Lisanna slow clapping at how impressed she was.  _Those_ _fuckers!_ **Especially**  Lisanna! She has no right to be  _this_  impressed when it took her ages to learn Bickslow's crush on her!

Natsu's only brought back to Lucy when she practically slaps both hands on the sides of his face so he'd concentrate on her. Now they were both smushing each other's faces.

Taking the sight of him in, Lucy looks at Natsu. Natsu who is not her first friend or her only best friend but a special person to her. Natsu who was the first to take to her on her first day of school. Natsu who had been there for her through her ups and downs and her mother's passing. Basically  _everything_.

"You didn't tell me anything." Lucy frowns as she tells him this.

"Uh, right." Natsu says after realizing he didn't tell Lucy a thing and instead just kissed her. He lets go of her face because he wants to take her seriously. "I like you, Luce. Like a lot."

Lucy smiles, big and wide, she's afraid that she might just split her face open by how much she's smiling. "I like you a lot too." Lucy tells Natsu. She then repeats her earlier words, "Took you long enough."

It's only then does Natsu notice the crazy amount of yellow Lucy is wearing. A golden star clip in her hair, yellow jumper, reflective strappy sandals. Natsu flashes Lucy a smile, "You're wearing a lot of yellow today. I like it." He compliments.

"Yellow is the colour of happiness. I thought it would be a good luck charm for the first day of university but after ...  _this_." Lucy gesture to the kiss, them, whatever that just happened and  _is_  happening. "I think it paid off. Besides, I think it suits today. Don't you think?"

* * *

  **end**

**Author's Note:**

> Ending the year with some happiness so I can start the new year happy. I need to stop limiting myself to stories where everything starts at age twelve. Gakuen Alice, Card Capture Sakura, Shugo Chara, you damn influential liars.
> 
> – 31 December 2017


End file.
